FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a high-speed communication platform with drivers, receivers, and channels. Signals are launched from drivers to the receivers through T-lines on, for example, an FR4 board. The driver outputs are at the near-end of the T-lines and the receiver inputs are at the far-end. ODT circuits where are located at the receiver end which help in reducing the signal reflections and improve signal integrity.
In high-speed data transfer designs, ODT is used on the receiver end to minimize reflections and improve signal integrity. Often high-speed ODT designs are simple passive resistors which result in constant DC power. This DC power turns out to be significant especially in dual-data rate3 (DDR3) applications due to the fact that there are a large number of I/O's. This presents a problem.